Vijayanagara Empire Founded
The Vijayanagara Empire (c.1336–1646) was founded by two brothers, Harihara and Bukka, reputedly former officers of the Delhi Sultanate, who established a Hindu kingdom in the Deccan as a counterweight to the Sultanate's southward expansion. At its peak under Krishnadevaraya (r. 1509–1529), Vijayanagara controlled most of the Indian peninsula south of the Krishna River and was one of the wealthiest states in Asia — the capital city, visited by Portuguese and other foreign traders, was described as larger than Rome. The empire sustained a remarkable cultural synthesis of Shaivite and Vaishnavite traditions, built temples of extraordinary scale, and patronised Telugu and Kannada literature. Its destruction at the Battle of Talikota (1565), when a coalition of Deccan Sultanates defeated and killed Rama Raya, left the capital sacked and abandoned — a ruin visited today as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Year: 1336 CE
- Category: Empire
